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Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.

Head of the Statue of a Bovine Deity

Middle Kingdom

ca. 2124-1981 B.C.

Not on view

This object is not part of The Met collection. It was in the Museum for a special exhibition and has been returned to the lender.

Parts of two statues depicting bovines were found reused as building material in the foundations of the Montu temple at el-Tod. Stylistic features, particularly the position and treatment of the eyes and the delicate modeling, indicate that they were made during the Twelfth Dynasty. The statues may depict the war god Montu, who takes a bull form in later periods, but they also may represent the cow goddess Hathor, who was prominent during the Middle Kingdom.

Head of the Statue of a Bovine Deity, Limestone — Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: Head of the Statue of a Bovine Deity

Period: Middle Kingdom

Dynasty: Dynasty 11-12

Date: ca. 2124-1981 B.C.

Geography: From Egypt, Upper Egypt; Thebes, El-Tod

Medium: Limestone

Dimensions: 17 11/16 × 21 1/4 × 11 13/16 in. (45 × 54 × 30 cm)

Credit Line: Paris, Louvre Museum, Departement des Antiquités égyptiennes

Accession Number: SL.3.2015.32.12

The Met

Egyptian Art at The Met

The Met's collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 26,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from the Paleolithic to the Roman period.